AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

Rittenhouse jurors to return for Day 2 of deliberations

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Jurors weighing charges against Kyle Rittenhouse were to return Wednesday for a second day of deliberations in his murder trial, after they failed to reach a swift verdict on whether he was the instigator in a night of bloodshed in Kenosha or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.

The jury of 12 deliberated for a full day Tuesday without reaching a decision. Several appeared tired as they walked into the courtroom Tuesday evening and indicated with a show of hands that they were ready to go home.

The case went to the anonymous jury after Judge Bruce Schroeder, in an unusual move, allowed Rittenhouse himself to play a minor role in selecting the final panel of 12 who would decide his fate. Rittenhouse reached into a raffle drum and drew numbered slips that determined which of the 18 jurors who sat through the case would deliberate and which ones would be dismissed as alternates.

That task is usually performed by a court clerk, not the defendant. Schroeder said he has been having defendants do it for “I’m going to say 20 years, at least.”

Rittenhouse, 18, faces life in prison if convicted as charged for using an AR-style semi-automatic rifle to kill two men and wound a third during a night of protests against racial injustice in Kenosha in the summer of 2020. The former police youth cadet is white, as were those he shot.

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Pfizer asks US officials to OK promising COVID-19 pill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Tuesday to authorize its experimental pill for COVID-19, setting the stage for a likely launch this winter of a promising treatment that can be taken at home.

The company’s filing comes as new infections are rising once again in the United States, driven mainly by hot spots in states where colder weather is driving more Americans indoors.

Pfizer’s pill has been shown to significantly cut the rate of hospitalizations and deaths among people with coronavirus infections. The Food and Drug Administration is already reviewing a competing pill from Merck and several smaller drugmakers are also expected to seek authorization for their own antiviral pills in the coming months.

“We are moving as quickly as possible in our effort to get this potential treatment into the hands of patients, and we look forward to working with the U.S. FDA on its review of our application,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, in a statement.

Specifically, Pfizer wants the drug available for adults who have mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections and are at risk of becoming seriously ill. That’s similar to how other drugs are currently used to treat the disease. But all FDA-authorized COVID-19 treatments require an IV or injection given by a health professional at a hospital or clinic.

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Richardson adds to diplomatic wins with journalist’s release

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bill Richardson’s success in helping secure journalist Danny Fenster’s release from a Myanmar prison is the latest demonstration of the former New Mexico governor’s knack for flying into some of the most closed societies on earth and persuading those in charge to do Washington a favor.

From Iraq to Sudan to North Korea, Richardson has repeatedly proven willing to talk with dictators, military juntas and reclusive strongmen — forging relationships with notorious regimes outside formal diplomatic channels.

“I think there was a certain amount of trust between myself and the commanding general,” Richardson told reporters in New York on Tuesday, referring to Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s ruler. “I treated him with respect, he treated me with respect.”

Richardson’s missions have often come with the blessing of Democratic presidents, though their open public endorsement is rarer until after the fact. Striking that balance allows foreign officials to believe they are talking to someone who can be an informal conduit to top U.S. authorities even as the administration says publicly it won’t negotiate with rogue states.

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Tuesday, “We appreciate efforts by all partners, including Gov. Richardson, who helped secure Danny’s release.”

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Wind-stoked wildfire causes death in Wyoming, evacuations

CODY, Wyo. (AP) — Wildfires pushed by strong winds forced the evacuation of homes in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado and led to a death in Wyoming, officials said Tuesday.

Downed power lines caused a fire near the northern Wyoming community of Clark on Monday night that burned at least two homes and seven outbuildings, said Jerry Parker, the Park County Fire District administrator. Wind gusts topped 100 mph (161 kph) in the area Monday night.

Kristie Hoffert, medical chief for the Clark Fire District, said the person who died was a family member of a firefighter.

“It hits incredibly close to home for our department,” she told The Cody Enterprise on Tuesday. “We are struggling.”

Officials did not release any information on how the death occurred.

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Yellen extends to Dec. 15 date for potential debt default

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress Tuesday that she believed she would run out of maneuvering room to avoid the nation’s first-ever default soon after Dec. 15.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Yellen said that she believed Treasury could be left with insufficient resources to keep financing the government beyond Dec. 15.

Yellen’s new date is 12 days later than the Dec. 3 date she provided in a letter to Congress on Oct. 18. That letter was based on the fact that Congress had just passed a $480 billion increase in the debt limit as a stop-gap measure.

As she has done in the past, Yellen urged Congress to deal with the debt limit quickly to remove the possibility of a potential default on the nation’s obligations.

“To ensure the full faith and credit of the United States, it is critical that Congress raise or suspend the debt limit as soon as possible,” Yellen wrote to congressional leaders.

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China, US to ease restrictions on each other’s media workers

BEIJING (AP) — China and the U.S. have agreed to ease restrictions on each other’s media workers amid a slight relaxation of tensions between the two sides.

The official China Daily newspaper on Wednesday said the agreement was reached ahead of Tuesday’s virtual summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden.

Under the agreement, the U.S. will issue one-year multiple-entry visas to Chinese media workers and will immediately initiate a process to address “duration of status” issues, China Daily said. China will reciprocate by granting equal treatment to U.S. journalists once the U.S. policies take effect, and both sides will issue media visas for new applicants “based on relevant laws and regulations,” the report said.

In a statement to The Associated Press late Tuesday, the State Department said China had committed to issuing visas for a group of U.S. reporters “provided they are eligible under all applicable laws and regulations.”

“We will also continue issuing visas to (Chinese) journalists who are otherwise eligible for the visa under U.S. law,” the statement said.

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US population center moves 11.8 miles; still in Missouri

HARTVILLE, Mo. (AP) — Some people might describe Hartville, Missouri, as being in the middle of nowhere, but the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday announced that it’s the closest town to the middle of the nation.

The hamlet of about 600 people in the Missouri Ozarks is located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the center of the U.S. population distribution, according to the Census Bureau.

The town is the type of place where families have been farming for generations, everybody knows each other and people stay for the “small-town living,” said Sabrina Gilliland, 38, a paralegal for the local prosecutor, who lives on a family farm with her four children, cattle, pigs and chickens.

Gilliland joked that her mother is “related to half the people in the town.” The four-block center of Hartville has a diner, barbershop, gas station and hair salon.

Pastor Melvin Moon, a Hartville City Council member, is hopeful the new designation brings tourists to the area known for Civil War history, antique shops and rivers popular for fishing, canoeing and kayaking. The Census Bureau will present a plaque to the town next spring.

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Twitter rolls out redesigned misinformation warning labels

Twitter users will soon see new warning labels on false and misleading tweets, redesigned to make them more effective and less confusing.

The labels, which the company has been testing since July, are an update from those Twitter used for election misinformation before and after the 2020 presidential contest. Those labels drew criticism for not doing enough to keep people from spreading obvious falsehoods.

The redesign launching worldwide on Tuesday is an attempt to make them more useful and easier to notice, among other things.

Experts say such labels, used by Facebook as well, can be helpful to users. But they can also allow social media platforms to sidestep the more difficult work of content moderation — that is, deciding whether or not to remove posts, photos and videos that spread conspiracies and falsehoods.

Twitter only labels three types of misinformation: “manipulated media,” such as videos and audio that have been deceptively altered in ways that could cause real-world harm; election and voting-related misinformation and false or misleading tweets related to COVID-19.

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Judge vets potential jurors for Ghislaine Maxwell trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Prospective jurors got their first glimpse of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls and women, when a judge began questioning them individually Tuesday.

Wearing a black suit, Maxwell hugged her lawyers when she entered the courtroom and briefly sketched a courtroom artist who was drawing her.

Judge Alison J. Nathan’s questions in Manhattan federal court were aimed at seeing if potential jurors can stay impartial in the sordid case against Maxwell.

The 12 jurors and six alternates who will hear the case will not be chosen until Nov. 29, when opening statements will begin. The trial is expected to stretch to mid-January.

Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges she groomed underage victims to have unwanted sex with Epstein. She has vehemently denied wrongdoing.

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Weah’s goal gains US bumpy 1-1 draw at Jamaica in qualifier

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Damion Lowe leapt above Walker Zimmerman at the top of the 6-yard box in the 84th minute and headed Leon Bailey’s corner kick to the left of U.S. goalkeeper Zack Steffen.

Back at The Office for the first time in 25 months, yellow-clad Reggae Boyz fans erupted at the apparent go-ahead goal.

But wait!

Costa Rican referee Juan Gabriel Calderón whistled Lowe for a relatively slight push into Zimmerman’s shoulder, a call frequently not made against a CONCACAF home team.

“He blew the whistle early, and that was a relief,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said.

The Associated Press